• Incorporation of all housing-related elements into a single planning document that would be a useful tool for addressing housing needs;
• Development of housing strategies based on examination of overall housing needs and the establishment of goals and a planfor addressing those needs;
• Preparation of an action-oriented management and monitoring tool that would help determine how effectively the City is satisfying its housing needs given the available resources;
• Focusing on the housing needs of low- and very low-income persons, including the needs of homeless individuals and others with special housing needs; and
• Creation of a strategy for meeting the City's housing assistance needs over a five year time period.

The plan contains all four federal housing assistance programs that the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD) administers by itself or in concert with other City departments. The four programs are the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), the Emergency Shelter Grant Program (ESG), and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program (HOPWA).

The Consolidated Plan consists of three sections:

Section I: Needs Assessment (including a profile of homeless and special needs populations);

Section II: Housing Markets and Inventory Analysis;

Section III: Five-year Strategies and Implementation Plan, and a One-year Action Plan.

The Consolidated Plan continued the CHAS process of soliciting citizen input. For 1995, the City held one general public hearing at the Linwood Multi-Purpose Center on October 6, 1994, and four public hearings before the City Council's Plans and Zoning Committee between January 18, 1995 and February 8, 1995. Since the 1994 CHAS was a full, 5-Year CHAS, rather than a one-year update as allowed by HUD, many of the previously-adopted strategies were included in the Consolidated Plan. This adoption further ensures continued coordination with the City's current city-wide strategic and comprehensive planning process, "FOCUS Kansas City".

Consolidated Strategy Areas

For the 1995 Consolidated Plan, the Department continued to group neighborhoods into fourteen Consolidated Strategy Areas, or CSA's. These CSA's enable City departments to make the best use of census data and other kinds of information, and to plan efficiently and effectively for groups of neighborhoods, rather than planning individually for all of the more than 240 neighborhoods in Kansas City. CSA's continue the recognition of neighborhood planning as an integral part of the City's overall development strategy.

The Consolidated Plan includes an extensive section on the demographics, housing needs, market characteristics and trends in Kansas City. Data in narrative and graphic form on age, income, and origin, and on housing type, condition and cost covers the City as a whole as well as the CSA's. The housing needs of the entire Kansas City population, and of special needs populations in particular, continue to increase. Some highlights of the City's demographic and housing data includes the following:

• Population city-wide is 435,146 - a 3% decline since 1980.
• Population in seven of the central-city CSAs decreased by 14% over the same period from 1980 to 1990.
• Single-parent families comprise 19%, or 33,089, of all families.
• Median-family income for the City is $32,969, with 28% of all households falling below half this figure.
• Owner-occupied housing units stand at 50% of the city-wide total of 201,773 housing units.
• Rehabilitation needs of all housing city-wide is estimated in excess of $2 billion. One in five housing units are in the need of major rehabilitation, and 12% of all housing units are vacant.
• Total housing units increased by 10,000 units in the decade from 1980 to 1990, but seven central-city CSAs experienced a loss of 7,357 housing units during the same period.
• Median value of an owner-occupied home is $60,300, and mean rent for a two-bedroom dwelling unit is $348 per month.

Demographic profiles include the most current information available on populations with special needs, including homeless families and individuals, the elderly, people with physical and mental disabilities, and people with HIV and AIDS. This data also reveals a significant overlap among the special needs populations. This section details information such as the following:

• Service providers' estimates of the homeless population in Kansas City range from 12,000 - 19,000 people.
• Ninety percent (90%) of individuals with a serious mental illness earn below 30% of median income.
• People with physical disabilities face a shortage of a wide range of housing types that meet their needs - including group homes, supported and independent living, public housing, and accessible private dwellings.
• While not all people with HIV or AIDS require on-site medical assistance, many will need housing subsidies as they lose income as the disease progresses.
• The Kansas City Housing Authority owns 2,058 public housing units of which 48% stand vacant.
• Overall, Kansas City is estimated to have a shortage of at least 20,000 permanent, safe and affordable housing units.

Using FOCUS as a guide, the Department developed an overall housing goal and corresponding objectives. Some of the most important objectives are:

• To emphasize affordable housing development generally in the area located from North Vivion Road to 75th Street, and from State Line Road to I-435.
• To promote housing choices for public housing residents with the replacement of a majority of public housing units in areas which do not have predominantly low-income populations.
• To promote homeownership by providing affordable housing assistance to low- and moderate-income persons.

Development approaches or strategies are summarized for each goal. The two general approaches are Needs-Based Strategies and Special Strategy Considerations. Funding priorities for all 5 follow below.

  (I)  HOUSING                        $    13,765,000
                                   
  Acquisition of Land for Housing             500,000 
  Clearance and Demolition                    125,000
  Housing Debt Repayment (108 Loans)        1,567,000
  Housing Grant Programs                    1,000,000           
  Housing Loan Programs                     7,498,000
  Housing Development & Rehab Services      3,075,000
                                           
  (II) HOMELESS and SPECIAL NEEDS           1,279,000           
                                      
  Housing Grant Programs                    1,275,000           
  Non-Housing Grant Programs                    4,000     
                                                        
  (III) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT               5,520,000 
                
  Community Services                           94,500
  Counseling Services                         184,000
  Economic Development Activities             820,000
  Econ Developm't Debt Repaym't (108 Loans) 1,176,000        
  Employment Services                         177,500   
  Planning                                    309,000   
  Program Management and Audit              1,075,000           
    Public Facilities Debt 
    Repaym't (108Loans)                     1,419,000 
  Public Facilities and Improvements           85,000      
  Youth Services                              180,000

  TOTAL FUNDING:                          $20,564,000 

Maps

MAP 2 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.

MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.

MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels and proposed HUD funded projects.